Members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament have debunked rumours of a pending reshuffle of its leadership. The Member of Parliament for Bekwai, who is also the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, addressed the media on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 and urged Ghanaians to treat those rumours with the contempt they deserve.
According to him, the caucus had not contemplated any such move, let alone made it public, arguing that their leaders have steered their affairs properly all these years.
“The majority caucus has not made any changes to its leadership. The majority caucus has not contemplated making any changes to its leadership, and we want to tell Ghanaians to ignore any such publications. We want to assure you that we have confidence in the leadership as they are, and the status quo shall remain,” Joe Wise said.
CHANGE
Multiple media reports had suggested that the New Patriotic Party was on the verge of changing its leadership in Parliament.
According to these reports, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, would vacate his position for his Deputy, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, and the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh Dompreh, would be the Deputy Majority Leader.
Some of these reports also alleged that the Suame Legislator, who doubles as the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had been tabled to become the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, replacing Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who is eyeing an international post.
However, the First Deputy Speaker told the media that, due to the ministerial appointment offered to Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the caucus will discuss her replacement, but for now, there is no change.
CONSTITUTION
The NPP constitution, Article 13(1), acknowledges that, not inconsistent with the 1992 constitution, the party shall elect leaders for its parliamentary group.
Article 13(2) says, “The election of the Leader, the Deputy Leader, the Chief Whip and the Deputy Chief Whip of the Parliamentary Group shall be done by the National Council.”
Article 13(4) also states that “The National Council and the National Executive Committee shall, respectively, review each year the performance of the Parliamentary leadership and spokespersons with a view to making appropriate changes where necessary.”
However, Article 110(1) of the 1992 Constitution states that, “subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may, by Standing Orders, regulate its own procedures.”
At the first meeting of the fourth session of the eighth Parliament, which commenced on Tuesday, February 6, 2024 the House began the implementation of its new Standing Orders.
In the new orders, it is only the caucuses that can elect their leadership, not any external body.
The new order erodes the powers of the political parties to decide who leads their members of parliament in the House.
AGENDA
The Chronicle is informed that the issue of a change in the majority leadership was on the agenda at the NPP’s National Executive Committee and National Council meeting held on Monday, February 19, 2024.
Information available to this paper indicates that the item was proposed by some members of the majority caucus, but they were told to consult the entire group in Parliament, so that item on the day’s agenda was not discussed at all.
